RULES

Jefferson County Midget Football Association

2009 Season

SECTION I: ELIGIBILITY

RULE 1: AGE

League play begins at 2nd grade. Players will be placed on teams on their grade for the year of play. The Jefferson County Midget Football Association (JMFA) sponsors the following age groups for play: 2nd grade (7); 3rd grade (8); 4th grade (9); 5th grade (10); 6th grade (11); 7th grade (12); Seniors - 8th grade (13-14).

When special circumstances exist due to repeating a grade or being advanced a grade, the JMFA board will determine where the child will be rostered based on age as of July 31st of the current year.

At no time, will a player be allowed to play up or down in grade.

Any player who was previously rostered on a JMFA team with players one grade above or below that players school grade, may elect to move to that players school assigned grade level one time in that player’s JMFA career.

RULE 2: LEAGUES

Teams will be grouped into the following seven leagues: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade (Seniors). Seniors are defined as 8th grade (13 and 14 years olds by July 31st); High School students are ineligible to participate in the JMFA program.

No player participating in a tackle football program (including school programs) other than JMFA is eligible for participation in JMFA. Players found to be concurrently rostered to a JMFA team and participating in another football program shall be deemed illegal and Section 1 Rule 8 will apply.

A child who turns 15 prior to November 30th is ineligible to participate in the JMFA program.

RULE 3: BACKGROUND CHECKS

Starting in the 2006 season, all coaches, team managers and team moms who participate in the JMFA program will be required to submit to a criminal background check. This rule includes area officers and county officers. Each area will be responsible for obtaining and monitoring these background checks. A designated area will be responsible for monitoring the county board member checks.

RULE 4: OFFICIAL ROSTERS

Rosters listing the players’ names, complete addresses, telephone number, birth dates, and grade and photoof each player showing his/her jersey number will be prepared for each team and presented to the President of the JMFA County Board prior to the first official practice. The weight, height, jersey number and patch designation of each player will be recorded on the roster in ink at the time of the official weigh-in. All 3rd – 8th grade players must reappear on their previous year’s roster unless the parent has opted for the blind draft.

An official roster must be available at all games. The official roster must be signed by the County Board, Area President/Director, and Head Coach in ink at the official weigh-in. As part of the pre-game warm up and prior to the start of the game, the opposing head coaches or their designee will meet to review the official rosters as related to the patch players on each team. If it is found that any player required to have a patch does not, that player will not play until the patches are secured to their jerseys as set forth in Section I, Rule 8.

1.Team Books shall have all documents required for player registration and eligibility.

2.The Team Book shall be presented for review at the time of weigh-in.

3.If a team wishes to challenge an opposing players eligibility they must do so on the JMFA play count sheet prior to kickoff, and in writing to their Area Director who will make formal request to the JMFA President.

a.The team with the challenged player shall deliver the Team Book to the JMFA President or his/her designee with-in 4 hours of the game where the challenge was made.

i.Team Books contain sensitive information and as such no team is required to present the book directly to the challenging team but is required to surrender it to the JMFA president or his/her designee at any time it is requested.

Areas that have two or more 7th grade teams advancing into Seniors, may combine rosters to form a team if numbers are not sufficient to form two or more teams. Any combination of two or more rosters must be ratified by the county board by a majority vote. Any and all roster combination is subject to Rule 12 placement.

If an official roster is not presented, the game is forfeited and counted as a loss by the team unable to or refusing to present their official roster. In the case that neither team has their official roster; the game is counted as a loss for both teams. This rule will be administrated and enforced by the referee. A roster can only be challenged before the beginning of a game.

An official roster(s) will be made available to any and all JMFA Board of Directors, Area President/Director or County Representatives for review upon written request to the JMFA executive board and Area in question at any reasonable time. A copy of the official roster(s) will be submitted from the County and from the Area in question.

RULE 5: PLAYER REQUIREMENTS

No player shall be eligible to play or practice until his/her registration fee has been paid or waived by the area, the doctor’s certificate has been received, a copy of the birth certificate or US Passport or state issued Identification Card is on file and proof of grade/proof of residence is received, the parents code of ethics is received, the release of liability is received, and the player is equipped with certified equipment as approved by JMFA. Areas using Electronic Registration may use electronic signature of acceptance of the Parents Code of Ethics and the Release of Liability to satisfy receipt of the forms and proof of registration.

RULE 6: REGISTRATION

Registration will be officially closed at the time of the county bracketing, with the following exceptions:

A player may be accepted after the County Bracketing meeting date if the following procedure is adhered to:

Area President/Director assigns the player to the team with the smallest roster in his/her area with the signed approval of the County President.

If the area has full rosters in the player’s age group, the player will go to the closest geographical are with an opening on a roster in the player’s grade. See Section II, Rule 2.

The County President or his/her designee will perform weigh-in. A player cannot enter the program after the second game has been played by any team in the grade level (any division) in which that player will compete. Player cannot enter the program after the second regularly scheduled game has been played, e.g. a youth cannot enter the program during the playoffs only.

RULE 7: PHYSICAL EXAM

A current physical exam is required of each player prior to the player’s first practice, with the certification by the doctor that the player is physically fit to play football. Violation of this rule will result in disciplinary action directed at the Area and/or Head Coach.

RULE 8: INELIGIBLE OR ILLEGAL PLAYER

If an ineligible and/or illegal player is discovered to be playing or has played on a team, the following process must be completed and disciplinary actions carried out.

The player shall not be allowed to participate in JMFA scheduled games from the time of discovery until process is completed or until the issues of eligibility are resolved, whichever occurs first.

A. the head coach of the team is directly responsible for his/her players and as such disciplinary actions will be directed by him.

B. The player and his family know the requirements of eligibility and as such disciplinary action will be directed to them.

A disciplinary hearing will be called and held by JMFA members prior to the team’s next scheduled game to hear the facts of the case and render a decision concerning eligibility and determine disciplinary action for the head coach, player, and/or board member.

The disciplinary actions are as follows:

Coach:

A. First Offense: If the head coach has knowingly played an ineligible and/or illegal player said coach would be suspended for the next scheduled game (JMFA post-season play included) and any games the player had played will be forfeited.

B. Second Offense: Three (3) game suspension and warning of dismissal from the program as a whole.

C. Third Offense: Dismissal from the program, can reapply the next season only through an official meeting of JMFA members.

Player: Suspended for the season. All games he/she played in will be forfeited.

Board Member: If a board member knowingly entered an illegal/ineligible player, he/she will be suspended for that year.

The above rule and hearing shall be done in a timely manner and is comprehensive, e.g, the coach and the player are both disciplined, one is not exclusive of the other, if the JMFA board finds sufficient proof to direct disciplinary action. An area should remain free to hear and discipline their own individual cases prior to them reaching the JMFA level.

RULE 9: BACKFIELD LIMITATION

Backfield limitations shall be as follows:

2nd grade, 75 lbs.

3rd grade, 80 lbs.

4th grade, 90 lbs.

5th grade, 100 lbs.

6th grade, 110 lbs.

7th grade, 125 lbs.

8th grade Seniors have no backfield weight limitations.

A. All players whose weight as entered on the official JMFA roster exceeds the backfield limit for the players’ age group by .01 lbs shall be designated a patch player.

B. A patch player shall be designated with a 1-inch diameter sticker with the JMFA logo in a bright neon green color. Placement of these stickers will be in front and back of player’s helmet.

Patch players are allowed to:

A. Play as an offensive or defensive lineman on the Line of Scrimmage (LOS).

B. Play as a tight end or wide receiver on the LOS and receive a forward pass thrown beyond the LOS.

C. Run with the ball after having intercepted a pass that was thrown by the opposing offense.

D. Line up in the offensive backfield for the purpose of being the kicker of a punt, extra point attempt, or field goal. In the event of a muffed snap, the patch player may cover the ball, or block to protect the holder.

E. Perform a kick-off or free kick following a safety or line up at any position on a kick-off or free kick.

F. Play on the front line on a kick-off return and may advance the football if receiving on onside kick.

Patch Players are NOT allowed to:

A. Line up in an offensive or defensive backfield position except as defined in Paragraph B above. Patch players are not allowed to retreat upon the snap or during the play into a typical linebacker or defensive back position. Note: Patch players are allowed to chase a ball carrier downfield.

B. Line up in a linebacker position.

C. Hand off, run, pass or receive a pass when lined up in the offensive backfield to perform a kick.

D. Be a part of a fake play when lined up in the offensive backfield to perform a kick.

E. Play a position on the kick-off receiving team except the front line.

F. Take a hand-off in the offensive backfield for an end around play when the patch player is playing a tight end or receiver position.

Any violation of the rule pertaining to a patch player shall be an unsportsmanlike penalty. Repeated violation of the rule shall be grounds for the expulsion of the player and/or coach as it is unsportsmanlike conduct. There are no backfield limitations for the senior teams.

RULE 10: ROSTERING

Area Presidents/Directors have prime responsibility to roster players on teams and to do so within the association rules, verifying the following:

A. Make sure player’s residence is within the area boundaries, verified by school enrollment or verified with an Xcel Energy Co. bill or telephone bill as of July 31, or gets written release from the President of the area of residence and county approval.

B. The county board approval of the proof of residence when an Xcel Energy Co. bill or telephone bill cannot be provided.

C. When a child/player is attending a school in an area other than their home area, they are eligible to play football for the area that the school is located in. Proof of enrollment is required (report card, CSAP score, letter from school stating enrollment). A child/player must have attended the school the previous school year to be eligible for this option. Refer to Section 1, Rule 1.

D. Patch and backfield weight limitations.

E. Parent’s signature on official registration form releasing the area and JMFA from liability for injury. See Section I Rule 5

F. Doctor’s certificate stating the player is released to participate in football.

G. A state issued Birth Certificate or a valid US Passport.

H. Proof of grade.

I. A signed parent(s) code of ethics. See Section I Rule 5

J. Equipment as approved by JMFA.

K. Payment of fees.

L. Returning players should appear on their previous team’s roster.

M. No area registration forms can have a space for requesting a different coach or team for returning players. For returning players wishing to change teams it will be clear that the players will be entered into the blind draft at the parents request, no guarantee of movement will be made.

May not add a player under the guise of the player’s relative being an assistant coach, unless it is a rookie team of any age.

Any parent, player, relative or coach who alters or modifies official documents such as birth certification, report cards, etc., in an attempt to play out of the player’s true grade will be suspended for one (1) calendar year. Re-entry into JMFA for those violations will require a majority vote of the JMFA Board.

RULE 11: WEIGH-IN

All Players must attend their Official Area Weigh-in to be eligible to participate in JMFA. If any player will not be available for their scheduled weigh-in date, it is the responsibility of the Head Coach to notify the Area Director who will make arrangements with another Area President to weigh the player prior to the Official Area Weigh-in at a time and location determined by the that Area Director. Players who miss weigh-in due to illness or family emergency and supported by documentation of illness or emergency will be weighed in by the JMFA President or his/her designee at a time and location determined by JMFA. Teams must have their Team Book at weigh-in and the book must be complete. Failure to present the team book at Weigh-in may result in a suspension of the head coach and possible disciplinary action directed at the Area.

The weigh-in shall be in accordance with JMFA approved guidelines, which shall be provided to all area board members on or before the last meeting preceding the official weigh-in. TO CLARIFY, PLAYER WEIGHING .01 POUNDS OR MORE ABOVE WEIGHT LIMIT WILL BE DESIGNATED AS PATCH.

Each area must conduct its weigh-in in conjunction with at least one other JMFA area. Each weigh-in must be monitored by a JMFA representative appointed by the JMFA President and not affiliated (past or present) with the areas conducting the weigh-in. Each area must insure that their official JMFA rosters for the previous season are present at their weigh-ins for review by the other participating areas and the JMFA appointed monitor for the weigh-in. Any change to the date/time/location of a weigh-in must be communicated to the JMFA President with a minimum of five (5) business days notice, so as to allow a JMFA representative to be in attendance.

RULE 12: SWEATDOWNS

JMFA is opposed to sweating a child down to make weight. It is unhealthy for a child to lose significant body weight. Patch limits are in place to protect the smaller children from injury due to significant weight differentials.

A. To discourage coaches and parents from sweating down a child, each coach will be given three (3) player challenges per season.

B. A challenge must be filed prior to a game and if the player in question plays in the backfield and is determined by re-weigh to be more than 10% over their weigh-in weight, the game will be forfeited.

C. If a challenge is filed, the player in question will be re-weighed by a county official and will be given no more than 24 hours notice of re-weigh. Time and place of re-weigh will be determined by county official and shall take place no more than 72 hours after challenge. All challenges must be filed prior to game time – this is not to exclude challenges filed midweek prior to a game.

D. A player who does not comply will be automatically patched. Any player found to weigh 10% over their weigh-in weight and over the weight limit in their age group will be patched for the remainder of the season.

All Member Areas will submit copies of all rosters as they stand on that day at the JMFA Bracketing meeting.

2ND GRADE –

1. Seeding: Teams will be randomly seeded in two (2) conferences.

2. Scheduling: The regular season shall consist of seven (7) games. All teams will play every one in their own conference if possible, plus their remaining games against the other conference as necessary to complete their schedules.

3. Playoff Bracketing: The top 16 teams will advance to the playoffs and will be seeded based on their overall record. Playoff schedules for 2nd grade will be as follows: 1 vs 16; 2 vs 15; 3 vs 14; 4 vs 13; 5 vs 12; 6 vs 11; 7 vs 10; and 8 vs 9. A championship game will be held at a different site from the Carnation Bowl. 2nd Grade teams will not participate in the Carnation Bowl.

If there are less than 16 teams, the highest seeded teams will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

If there are more than 16 teams, the remaining non-playoff teams will play one final game on the first playoff weekend with no advancement after that.

If there is an even number of non-playoff teams, they will play 17 vs 18; 19 vs 20; etc.

If there is an odd number of teams, the last three (3) teams will play 2-halves against each other (example: 21 teams – 17 vs 18; 19 vs 21 (one-half) 19 vs 20 (one-half), 20 vs 21 (one-half).

TIEBREAKERS -

2nd Grade Tiebreakers are listed below.

Tie Breakers:

A. Head-to-head match up

B. Points allowed v. common opponents

C. Total points allowed

D. If a tie for seeds 1-16 (all teams qualified for playoffs) will flip a coin

E. If a tie for 16 and 17 or 16, 17, 18 (one team will be eliminated from playoffs) California play-off

DIVISION I –

1. Seeding:3rd Grade teams advancing to the 2nd round of the 2nd grade playoffs from the previous season will be placed in Division 1 along with the two (2) teams with the best regular season records that did not advance to the 2nd round. Teams will be seeded for Division 1 as follows: Division 1 teams will be split into two 5-team conferences with the 2nd Grade Champion seeded #1 and the 2nd Grade Runner-up seeded #2. The remaining teams will be seeded based on their previous year’s records. 4th through 8th Grade teams will be seeded for Division 1 as follows: Division 1 teams will be split into two 5-team conferences with the Carnation Bowl winner seeded #1 and the Carnation Bowl Runner-up seeded #2. The remaining teams will be seeded based on their previous year’s records. The 9th and 10th place teams in Division 1 shall move to Division II. The Carnation Bowl winner and Carnation Bowl Runner-up in Division II shall move to Division I and be seeded at the bottom of each league based on previous year’s record. When there is space available in Division 1; upon request of coach and with approved area director and majority vote of the county board, new teams may enter into Division I and be randomly seeded at the bottom of Division I.

A. A team with 12 or more returning players constitutes a returning team regardless of coach change.

B. Division I teams with 11 or fewer players shall be dropped to Division II. If a team is dropped to Division II due to lack of returning players, their roster shall be frozen and no more returning players may be added to the roster. EXCEPTION – If at the coach’s request, the area director’s recommendation and county board approval, a team may retain a Division I seed.

C. In grades 3 – 8 Division I will consist of at least 10 teams. If any Division I Team is disbanded in grades 3 – 8, the county will determine which team shall be seeded in 10th place using the remaining seeding of the previous year’s record – keeping 10 teams in Division I. The teams designated to drop may be required to remain in Division I or Division II semi-finals teams from the previous year may be required to advance to Division I.

2. Scheduling: All teams will play every one in their own conference plus their remaining games against the other conference as necessary to complete their schedules.

3. Playoff Bracketing: The top 8 teams from Division I will advance to the playoffs and will be seeded based on their overall record. Playoff schedules for Division I will be as follows: 1 vs 8; 2 vs 7; 3 vs 6; and 4 vs 5.

DIVISION II

1. Seeding: Teams will be seeded for Division II as follows: Division II teams will be split into at least two 5-team conferences with the dropping Division I #9 team seeded #1 and the dropping Division I #10 team seeded #2. The Division II teams dropping to Division III shall be seeded at the top of Division III based on last year’s record. The remaining teams will be seeded based on their previous year’s record. The Carnation Bowl winner and Carnation Bowl Runner-up in Division II shall move up to Division I and be seeded at the bottom of each league based.

A. A team with 12 or more returning players constitutes a returning team regardless of coach change.

B. In grades 3 – 8 Division II will consist of at least 10 teams. If any Division II Team is disbanded in grades 3 – 8, the county will determine which team shall be seeded in 10th place using the remaining seeding of the previous year’s record – keeping 10 teams in Division II. The teams designated to drop may be required to remain in Division II or Division III semi-finals teams from the previous year may be required to advance to Division II.

C. The number of teams in all grade levels must be even. When a team wishes to remain in Division II they must achieve a .500 record or above.

1. Scheduling: All teams will play every one in their own conference plus their remaining games against the other conference as necessary to complete their schedules.

2. Playoff Bracketing: The top 8 teams from Division II will advance to the playoffs and will be seeded based on their overall record. Playoff schedules for Division II will be as follows: 1 vs 8; 2 vs 7; 3 vs 6; and 4 vs 5.

DIVISION III

1. Seeding: Teams will be seeded for Division III as follows: Division III will be split into two conferences with the dropping Division II #9 team seeded #1 and the #10 team seeded #2. The remaining teams will be seeded based on their previous year’s records. The Tournament winner and Runner-up in Division III shall move up to Division II and be seeded at the bottom of each league. When there is space available in Division II, upon request of the Division III coach and with approval of the area director and majority vote of the county board, teams may enter into Division II, upon request and be randomly seeded at the bottom of the Division II.

A. A team with 12 or more returning players constitutes a returning team regardless of coaching change.

(I) In grades 3 - 8, Division III will consist of at least six (6) teams.

2. Scheduling: The regular season shall start one week before the start of Division I & II (week 0). Teams will play all teams in their own conference if possible, plus their remaining games against the other conference as necessary to complete their schedules.

A. Regular season shall consist of seven (7) games for 16 or more teams with the top 16 teams advancing to seeding tournament in week 7 and from the tournament the top eight (8) teams advancing to the playoffs starting week 8.

B. Regular season shall consist of eight (8) games for 15 or less teams with the top four (4) teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs started week 8.

3. Year-End Tournament & Playoff:

A.When there are 16 or more teams, the top 16 teams will advance to the tournament and be seeded based on their overall record. Tournament seeding for Division III will be as follows: 1 vs 16; 2 vs 15; 3 vs 14; 4 vs 13; 5 vs 12; 6 vs 11; 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9, with the 8 winning teams advancing to the playoffs in week 8. The tournament playoffs shall take place at a location determined by the JMFA Board and shall conclude the Sunday preceding Division I and II Carnation Bowl weekend. See Section II Rule 3.

B. When there are 15 or less teams, 8 teams will advance to the playoffs (top 4 teams from each Conference) and seeded based on their overall record. Playoff schedule for Division III will be as follows: 1 vs 4; and 2 vs 3. The Playoffs shall take place at a location determined by the JMFA Board and shall conclude the Sunday preceding Division I and II Carnation Bowl weekend. See section II Rule 3.

4. Team Play: Teams will play Saturdays and Sundays for the purpose of the tournament and there shall be 20 plays per quarter regardless of grade for Teams 4 – 6 grade. 7th and 8th grade teams shall use a running clock in the tournament -- clock will only stop for timeouts and injury.

TIEBREAKERS -

DIVISION 1 and DIVISION II Tiebreakers are listed below.

Tie Breakers:

A. Head-to-head match up

B. Conference Record

C. Points allowed v. common opponents

D. Total points allowed

E. California Play-off

5.2nd advancing to 3rd grade: At the time of bracketing if there are 19 or more total teams in 3rd grade the top 10 teams (based on the previous year’s record) advancing from 2nd grade shall become 3rd grade Division I.

Games will be played as scheduled; all reschedules will be done by the JMFA scheduler. A coach may NOT reschedule a game. Schedule requests may be made to JMFA at the bracketing meeting but no guarantee of accommodation will be made. Any request made after the official schedule is released will not be accepted.

The highest-level tiebreaker that applies to all/remaining teams should be applied. If all teams have not played Head-to-head, then conference record should be used to exclude teams from the tie. The remaining teams will then be seeded using Head-to-head. If remaining teams have not played Head-to-head and Conference Record does not produce a clear winner, then total points allowed should be used to exclude teams from the tie and elevate one team to the first available seed. The remaining teams will then be seeded using Head-to-head if possible or the cycle will repeat. If, and only if, no other higher-level tie breaker can be applied to remaining teams, a California Play-off will be played.

Example: Teams A, B, C are all tied for 7th place at 4-4, A is 3-3 in Conference, B is 4-3 in Conference, C is 3-3 in Conference.

A – Beat B, Lost to C

B – Beat C, Lost to A

C – Beat A, Lost to B

Head-to-head is a circle so conference record is used and B becomes the 7th seed. Now Head-to-head resolves the remaining tie between A & C. C is 8th and A is 9th.

Example: Teams A, B, C, D are all tied for 6th place at 4-4, A is 4-3 in Conference, B is 4-3 in Conference, C is 4-3 in Conference, D is 4-3 in Conference.

A – Beat B, Lost to C, Did NOT play D

B – Beat C, Lost to A and D

C – Beat A, Lost to B and D

D – Beat B & C, Did NOT play A

Head-to-head is not used yet because they did not all play each other so conference record is used and the tie remains. So Points allowed v Common Opponents is used

A – Allowed 88

B – Allowed 79

C – Allowed 91

D – Allowed 93

B wins the 6th seed, we must stay with Points because D did not play A, so A wins the 7th seed. Now we return to Head-to-head and D wins the 8th seed, C- is the 9th seed. Now Head-to-head resolves the remaining tie between A & C. C is 8th and A is 9th.

RULE 14. PLACEMENT

Establishment of 2nd and 3rd grade teams is determined by JMFA geographical area with the recommendation to keep the number of players on each team in balance. All teams in a grade level shall be numerically balanced at the time of draft, this shall mean within 15%. Any player registering after the draft shall go to the team with the fewest players in the grade as stated in Section I Rule 6.

All new players and returning players wishing to change teams must be placed by draft when there is more than one team in a grade level.

3rd grade through 8th grade returning players must remain on the same team, this includes players who do not play for one year but wish to return unless they wish to transfer to another team in their area with county approval. Former JMFA players who have not played for two years or more are considered new players to be placed in the blind draft. See restrictions.

Players from another area must return to their home area. New players or those desiring to transfer to another team (after county approval) will be used to numerically balance out existing rosters or to form new teams.

Selection should be accomplished by players remaining unidentified with the exception of grade and backfield eligibility. This constitutes a draft.

Draft Cards may contain the following information:

1. Grade

2. ‘P’ if the player is over the backfield limit in the age group

3. A random player identified # known only to those administrators conducting the draft.

4. High school identifier - Only if the area builds 2nd and 3rd grade teams along high school lines.

5. ‘1' - Only if the child is a returning player and has requested, in writing to the Area Director, a Division 1 placement.

Draft Procedure may be done in one of the following ways as determined by the Area Board. All age groups in the Area’s draft will be done the same way.

1. The team with the most returning players will select first, each team in the age group will make one pick in order, until rosters are full and all children have been selected.

2. The team with the worst record/seed will select first, each team in the age group will make one pick in order, until rosters are full and all children have been selected.

3. Rookie teams will select first, then the longest standing teams in order, each team in the age group will make one pick in order, until rosters are full and all children have been selected.

Information that may be given to individual coaches at the time of the draft - confidential and may not be shared with any other coach.

1. A ‘Do Not Pick List’ - given only if a parent has requested in writing to the Area Director that a child be moved from a team for personal reasons. The Area Director and the County President must approve and sign this request.

2. A ‘Recruit list’ of new players - Given if:

a. The coach has submitted a list of specific NEW players to his Area Director at least two (2) days prior to the draft; and

b. The parent has confirmed in writing to the Area that the child has been recruited.

No child is guaranteed placement on any particular team regardless of any recruiting or draft requests.

Each area must give notice of the date, time, and place of any impending draft to the JMFA president, with a minimum of five (5) days notice, so as to allow a JMFA officer(s) (not affiliated with the area conducting the draft) to be in attendance for purposes of monitoring the draft as deemed necessary. Players not rostered by areas will be placed on a county-wide waiting list and placed as needed.

RESTRICTIONS:

A. No coach may recruit returning JMFA players.

B. No coach may recruit players from other teams or areas.

C. No coach may select a player before the draft or official rostering.

D. No coach may take part in team assignments.

E. No player may choose a team assignment.

F. No player may be placed on a predetermined team.

G. Recruiting: Coaches may recruit new players to their specific team. (New players are defined as any player who has not been rostered on a JMFA roster for 2 years.) Placement of recruited player must be accomplished through the draft and teams must remain balanced.

Example: Area has 3 teams in 4th grade with a total of 66 players in the age group. The Area has determined prior to Draft that each team will have 22 players. Team A has 19 returning players, team B has 14 returning players and Team C is a rookie team. All players shall be placed in the blind draft, If a Team has "recruits" the Area may provide the coach with a “Recruit List” but cannot guarantee placement.